Match Report- 09/01/2011 v Brighouse- Cup 2nd Round (Away)

Dave Turner Sun Jan 09, 2011 10:11 am

After a shaky return to the season last week against Queensbury, Wyke were flung into a very tough test against big rivals Brighouse in the second round of the League Cup. Brighouse beat Wyke both times last season on their way to promotion into the first division, but have had a tough season with 9 defeats in 10. In contrast the Wanderers are flying coming into the game on the back of seven straight wins. It was also former Wyke player Dom Pickersgill’s first game against his old club.

In a very tight match, Wyke managed to scrape a very narrow 5-4 win, a result which shows their first division credentials if they are to be promoted this season.

In contrast to Wyke’s usual brilliant starts, they were very much on the back foot during the early parts of the game. Disaster strook after 2 minutes, a Brighouse long throw managed to drop perfectly between the back four and the goalkeeper and the Brighouse did well to pounce, and play the ball into the middle where their striker was unmarked and coolly finished.

The hammering continued for Wyke, they couldnt get rid of the ball out of their own half, and when they did Brighouse were quick to dispossess and counter attack.

The game looked like only going on way at this point, the back four looked disorganised and the midfield didn’t seem as motivated as Brighouse, and Connor and Mikey up front didn’t seem to find their usual form.

Things got worse for Wyke on 19 minutes, a Brighouse corner came in and dropped over Joe McLoughlin’s head into the back of the net, it was a difficult one to deal with but there was definately an element of luck to the goal.

However Brighouse could have easily been 4 or 5 nil up, but they hadnt taken their chances and Joe McLoughlin had made a couple of good saves.

Wyke’performance began to slowly pick up, as Jake and Tai managed to regain control of the play from the back. Nathan and Damien also had now woken up and were being very competive in the middle of the park.

Wyke created a couple of chances, and after 27 minutes, they hit back. Connor Rhodes picked the ball up in the middle and fed through Scott Morris, Scott did well to get the better of the last defender and slid the ball under the keeper. It was now 2-1, but Wyke could count themselves fortunate that they will still in the game.

Wyke came close again to equalising, Connor Rhodes having a shot cleared off line. They were a couple of half chances for both teams, but the half ended 2-1 with Wyke vastly improving after their poor start.

Half Time- Brighouse 2-1 Wyke.

Wyke had the perfect start to the second half. Jack Lamch played a through ball which was missed by the last Brighouse defender and fortuitously fell for Connor Rhodes to break through, clear of the defence and fire into the far corner of the goal. Wyke had an equaliser and it was now looking good for them to go in front.

There was lots of action in the second half, Mikey Brooksbank had a header cleared off the line, and then at the other end Joe McLoughlin did exceptionally well to come out and pick up a loose ball. He also made another couple of good saves to keep Wyke in the game.

Wyke nearly took the lead after 8 minutes of the second half gone, Damien Hields fed through Connor who nudged the ball to Mikey Brooksbank, but Mikey’s shot whistled past the post.

Brighouse had a goal disallowed for offside, giving Wyke a big let-off after sloppy defending.

Nathan Khan also had a chance to score from long range, but again the shot was cleared of the line.

25 minutes gone, Jake Gilderdale was judged to have taken the Brighouse number 6 in the box, and the ref pointed to the spot. The Brighouse penalty taker stepped up and buried it into the far post, Joe McLoughlin guessed the right way but was never going to get such a fine penalty. 3-2 Brighouse.

Wyke didn’t allow Brighouse the lead for very long. Less than a minute later,Scott Morris was taken down unfairly down the left flank 30 yards out, and the ref gave Wyke a very important free-kick. Michael Brooksbank stepped up and fired an amazing shot into the top of the net, what a brilliant goal!!! Wyke were level again 3-3.

The Wyke lads, with no substitutes really worked hard for the last 15 minutes of the game, every lad was up for the game, and they really took the game to Brighouse. Damien and Nathan were excellent in the middle, and Scott and Jack on the flanks were working up and down the line causing all sorts of problems for the Brighouse defence.

However the game became attack attack late on, with either team picking the ball up in the middle and creating an attack. Jake and Tai had settled in and were now playing very well. Joe McLoughlin was very good as well, he came out confidently to collect several balls, and whilst looking solid at the back, Wyke had the confidence to push forward for a winner.

With 7 minutes to go, Connor Rhodes perfectly headed the ball past the keeper from a brilliant Michael Brooksbank long throw, a great piece of play from the Wanderers front two and Wyke were now in front. 4-3 they led.

Brighouse weren’t going down easily, and they continued to pressure Wyke, creating several chances which Joe McLoughlin was too good for. There was a lot of play going down the wings, Mudiwa Tegama put in a strong performance to restrict any play down the Wyke right, however there was a lot of play coming down the Wyke left, and Brighouse kept threatening to score.

Brighouse showed they were no pushovers, and they eventually scored with 5 minutes to go, the Brighouse midfielder drilled a shot from 25 yards leaving Joe McLoughlin with no chance of saving it. A great goal!! Now the game was all square again at 4-4.

In the last minute of the game, Michael Brooksbank had a great run down the right, however he was disposed by a defender, however Mikey didn’t give up and put in a brilliant slide tackle, the ball rebounded and fell perfectly to Connor Rhodes. Connor was never going to miss, as he confidently placed the ball past the keeper to give him a hatrick and fire Wyke into the last 16 of the cup.

Brighouse came close to equalising in injury time, but their unmarked player headed wide.

A brilliant win for Wyke!!

Goals

Scott Morris (27), Connor Rhodes (36, 61, 70), Michael Brooksbank (59).

Man of the Match

Jake Gilderdale: Jake continued his fine form with another strong performance today. He had the unenviable task of handling the Brighouse number 6 who was a very good player. Jake did very well to keep him at bay, and worked hard throughout the game.

Joe McLoughlin: Joe did very well today. He didn’t make a single mistake! He was very safe, and the confidence could be seen throughout the team. He made some very good saves, and was very brave coming out for 1v1s. The goals he let in were very good, because Joe was in good form and wasn’t going to let a soft goal in.

Dave’s Comments.

I’m dead pleased about how we went about the game today. We didn’t start well, but we didn’t let it bother us, Brighouse are used to having to win every ball because they are in Division 1, but we soon adapted our play to make sure we could compete. It was a great team performance today with no subs, 100% effort from all our boys, and we got a fantastic result. Probably one of our best performances of the season!